A recent study published in the Lancet shows treatment with eribulin extends lives of heavily pre-treated breast cancer patients compared with treatments of physician’s choice (EMBRACE study).

Extending the lives of women who have had extensive treatment for breast cancer that has spread is not a lost cause, conclude authors of a study published in The Lancet. The study shows that monotherapy with the drug eribulin extends the lives of breast cancer patients by a median 2.5 months compared with the treatment of the physician’s choice (median survival 13.1 vs 10.6 months). Eribulin, brand name Halaven, is a new chemotherapy drug that binds microtubules - structures that form the scaffolding that allows cell division - in a different way to existing chemotherapy drugs. Dr Javier Cortes and Prof Twelves, who helped designed the trial, talk to Prof McVie about the findings.

Cortes J et al: Eribulin monotherapy versus treatment of physician's choice in patients with metastatic breast cancer (EMBRACE): a phase 3 open-label randomised study, Lancet 2011 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60070-6

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